3 minute read
Let data be your guide
Unknowingly, organizations possess a tremendous amount of valuable data, but there is often a lack of knowledge and expertise to make proper use of it. The research center Data-driven Hospitality aims to bridge this gap by joining forces with multiple stakeholders. Task forces that consist of industry experts, valuable alumni, ambitious students, and HMSM researchers come together and cooperate to be game changers in this field of expertise. Two projects of the research center are highlighted in this article.
BY LUC HOUBEN
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Hospitality leadership: following the career path of our alumni
In the current light of employee shortages, being able to recruit and retain the right staff is more important than ever. The research center is setting up a project to map the careers of HMSM alumni, allowing to identify trends and developments in the labor market. By using longitudinal research, it is possible to visualize which career paths our graduates take. The research will be conducted using publically available information whilst adhering to the GDPR legislation at all times. The findings will enable the center to identify the popular and less popular fields of employment over time, and it will show the change in required skills and expertise on a global level. A dashboard is to be created, showing which elements are needed to be a true hospitality leader. It would show our current students which career paths will lead to a certain position within the industry, helping to translate ambition into success. The HMSM will be able to use the findings in its curriculum.
Grandma’s meatball or granddaughter’s veggiebowl: machine learning helps!
Every chef’s dilemma: what to put on today’s menu? On the line where creativity meets finance, and gastronomy meets business, it is hard for a chef to decide which dishes to include in the F&B offering. Many platforms exist that help with food-cost control, but predicting demand often remains at the disposal of fortune-tellers. With tons of experience, chefs and F&B managers try to predict the popularity of their offering but not always with success. Using simple AI (artificial intelligence) techniques, a restaurant will be able to accurately forecast the demand per dish on the menu. This helps to streamline the production process, reduce food waste and increase profit. The HMSM is developing a tool that first year students will use to forecast the number of sales concerning their own-developed menu in our student restaurant Refresh. Come and see yourself if the current offering at our school consists of Grandma’s meatballs or Granddaughter’s veggie-bowls!
The research center Data-driven Hospitality focuses on translating raw data into managerial information.
The center consists of Leo Fransen [F 1997], Luc Houben, Armand Odekerken, Lyvie Schoenmaeckers and professor Martijn Zoet. If the research center could be of any assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to martijn.zoet@zuyd.nl or check our website on
